Pitcher&#39;s rubber



Dec. 15, 1953 p, Q MADSEN 2,662,768

PITCHERS RUBBER Filed Oct. '7, 1948 Patented Dec. 15, 1953 PITCHERSRUBBER Paul S'..:Madsen, Bethany, Conn.,. assignor to TheSeamless'llubber Company, NewjHaven, Conn; a corporation of Connecticutf Application October `'7, 1948', Serial No`.`53,197'

scams.. (o1. 27s-.25)

'I'his invention relates to pitchers rubbersor platesA used in playingthe game of baseball. f

The ordinary pitchers rubber vor plate in use at the present timeconsists of a slab or matof elastic-material, such as rubber, that isrelatively thin and requires securing ymeans engaging the" same. andtheunderlying earth for holdingitin place. There are various objections tov`this -form of slablike` rubber, among` whichy are the I difficulty ofproviding satisfactoryanchoring means, andv the fact that the slab does`not remain level but is likely toA project upwardly atone or more edgesowing to the action of dirt whichl worksin under the margins of theslab.

Gne of the objects of the presentinvention is tov overcome thesedrawbacks.

Another object is` to improve the anchoringof the pitchers rubber,and-provide a rubberfwhich stays flat and level.

Another object is to-provide a pitchersrubber which is more durable than-previous'articles of this type, andr in ,which` the life ofthefarticle` is very notably extended owing to the 'fact that, bychanging the position of th'evrubberin'v the ground, new surfaces can bepresented'- after the surfacesinitially used become worn by the spikesof the playersV shoes.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of afpitc'hers rubber embodying myimprovements, showing it embedded in the ground and ready for use;

Fig. 2' is an enlargedV section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the article as it appears prior toinstallation;

Fig. 4. is a section on lined-4 of Fig. 3.; n

Fig. 5 is a side View of a modied formon a smaller scale; and

Fig. 6 is a section on lineG-G of Fig. 5.

In its general nature the rubber-illustrated: in the drawing, instead ofbeing in` the form oi` a slab, has what might be termed a` block shape`or billet shape. The block is elongated and` hollow, having a boreextending lengthwise from end to end, and the cross section of the blockis square, so that there is created an article having four elongated atfaces each of which has dimensions corresponding to the upper facedimensions of the ordinary pitchers slab. This article is preferablymade of rubber, although the term rubber is used in a broad rather thanin a restricted sense. The block is embedded in the earth so that in theinstalled position one of the elongated faces is flush, or substantiallyflush, with the surrounding earth.

In the drawing-the .rubberv issindicated generally'atl IIL-and inFigs; 1and 2" its installed'posi'-l tionris shown. Thesurrounding earthisfindi-` cated at Il, and at l2 is indicated the longitu dinalopeningor bore of round cross section. -In the `formtshown in Figs.- 1to 4, inclusive; thisboreis provided within: a reinforcing sleeve I-3.,which is snugly received Within a rubber' body MA that constitutesthebody of the block. It islpreferable to continue the rubber of body I'4across each end of the sleeve or liner'fI-3 so as toconceallthe'endofthe sleeve.` Th-isfextended. or continued' partv of the rubberendl'face is indicated ast-1B, and Athis extension is slightlylappedover theI interior of the sleeve,as=indicated at I6l in Fig. 4,the effect being that the end face of the block! is planar throughout,and thatltheeI-id edge of theslee'vevv is received and held in anyannular groovepro'.`

vided in the rubber material. 1 Y

The purpose of thezsleeve is to increase: the.

stiiness of the structure. rIihe sleeveiillustrated ismade of a mixtureof asbestos fibers and a suitable-binder, moldedI in' tubular form andhaving considerable stiffness'.v It may, however,v be madeof othermateriaLsuchasmetal, for example.

When the block is embedded' inthe manner.;l shown in Figs. 1 land 2, acertain. amount ofthe surrounding earth or soil will enter the. borevofv the block, and! this isi indicated in Fig.` 2,

The rubber :block of' square-.cross section provided inun'curedcondition. The reinforcing.

sleeve is then introduced: into the bore, andthe" article/'isthenvulcanizedli'n'` any appropriate way. However-,fthe particular procedurein'v manufacturing canfbevaried as conditions may require.

In the form shown infFigs. 5 and 6,'the1 reinforcing sleeve or liner isomitted'. Here the rub"- ber block 'ily has' a round borek I8 withinwhich",

isfpl'aced' a reinforcing plug 191` This reinforcing plugmay be of anysuitablexnaterial; in the form'.` shown it isA made of concrete. It?will be noted. that the plug fis shown asl having end portions, whichprojectsubstantially beyond the, end` faces oftherubberbod-y; Thisarticle isfembedded inA the` earth,v and when so embedded the body por'asse/76e inches, it will be seen that the provision of the boreconsiderably lessens the weight of the block as compared to a solidblock, without making it too light for purposes of stability. On theother hand, the weight is considerably increased in comparison to theslab form of plate or rubber, so as to overcome the need of fasteningthe article in place by underlying securing devices such as nails,screws and the like.

The present article is much more securely anchored than previously usedarticles, and the rubber remains flat and level, which is verydesirable. The weight of the block is quite sufficient to preventteetering, although, on the other hand, the weight is not greater thanis required for the purpose of rm, satisfactory anchoring. Making thelongitudinal opening of round cross section obviously makes the articlehighly resistant to compressive forces, but openings of other proles canbe used if desired,

The ground around the block should be well tamped down, and this, inconnection with the weight of the block, obviates the need forunderlying securing means.

In the use of pitchers rubbers the longitudinal edges presented to thefeet of the pitcher are worn down by the spikes on the pitchers shoes.When the edges of a plate of slab form become badly worn, replacement isnecessary, it being` then required that the securing devices be removedand a new slab installed. With the present form of rubber, thedurability and longevity are much greater by reason of the betteranchoring and also because of the fact that, to compensate for wear, theblock can be turned on its longitudinal axis to present new corners oredges to the feet of the pitcher. Supposing, for example, that in usethe pitchers feet unduly wear down the forward edge or corner of theblock, in other words, that edge or corner disposed toward the homeplate, the necessary adjustment can be made by giving the block aquarter turn, so as to embed the worn edge and present a new edge. Thisquarter-turn rotation can then be repeated at least twice for thepurpose of providing fresh new edges at the front of the block. The rearedge, of course, is subject to Wear, but in any case it will be obviousthat the permissible adjustment of the block by turning on its axisgreatly increases the scope and longevity of the article in comparisonto the forms of plate or rubber previously used.

Referring, for example, to Fig. 2 of the drawing, it Will be apparentthat the elongated member adapted to be embedded in the ground has afiat upper surface adapted to be positioned substantially flush with theground, said member having adjacent at least one of the lateral marginsof said surface a part or element projecting downwardly to a substantialextent to prevent dirt from working in under said member adjacent saidmargin, the member being of closed cross-sectional form, and saiddownwardly projecting part or element presenting a second flat surfaceof the same area as said upper surface.

When the block is placed in cavity of the pitchers mound in the mannershown in Fig. 2, each of the additional playing faces of the same areaas the upper playing face is disposable in said cavity substantiallyflush with the ground upon lifting the block from the cavity, giving itthe required turn about its longitudinal axis, and then lowering it.

Two embodiments of the invention are illustrated, but it will beapparent that additional modifications and changes in the details may bemade without departing from the principles of the invention or the scopeof the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A pitchers mound having a ground cavity, and a pitchers rubber ofsolid block formation received in said cavity and having a fiat playingface substantially flush with the ground and also having at least oneadditional playing face below the ground level, said rubber having athrough longitudinal opening therein to receive a lsubstantial amount ofthe surrounding earth or other material for properly anchoring saidrubber within the ground.

2. A pitchers mound having a ground cavity, and a pitchers rubber ofsquare cross section and with a continuous wall having four playingfaces, said rubber received in said cavity with any one of said playingfaces exposed and positioned substantially flush with the ground, andsaid rubber having a through longitudinal opening therein to receive asubstantial amount of the surrounding earth or other material foranchoring said rubber within the ground.

3. The subject-matter of claim 1 wherein the material received withinsaid longitudinal opening is in the form of a reinforcing plug or coreof concrete or other material to provide added weight for purposes ofstability.

4. The subject-matter of claim 1 wherein the material received withinsaid longitudinal opening is in the form of a reinforcing plug or corewith its end portions projecting from said block and extending into thesurrounding earth to serve as anchoring members for said block.

5. rIhe subject-matter of claim 1 wherein the through longitudinalopening for receiving a certain amount of earth or other material isreinforced by a stiffening sleeve member.

PAUL S. MADSEN.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 340,153 Pimm Apr, 20, 1886 357,675 Keating Feb. 15, 1887853,034 Ruff May 7, 1907 890,011 Anderson June 9, 1908 1,478,995Underwood Dec. 25, 1923 1,504,313 Barns Aug. 12, 1924 1,689,415 WallaceOct. 30, 1928 2,189,428 Love Feb. 6, 1940 2,225,496 Gethin et al. Dec.17, 1940

